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Japan Builds World's Fastest Computer
claylikethemud writes "The New York Times reports that Japan has built the world's most powerful supercomputer from "640 specialized nodes that are in turn composed of 5,104" NEC processors. The machine boasts the computing power equivalent to the 20 fastest American supercomputers combined, and with a top speed of 35.6 teraflops, outpaces the next fastest machine, the ASCI White Pacific, by more than factor of five. Applications include climate modeling, global warming prediction, and other non-weapons research."
Don't you wonder why they bother? They're only going to have to destroy the thing when it sprouts purple tentacles and destroys Tokyo.
Applications include climate modeling [...] But virtually anything, and any knowledge, can be used to "weapons"
You know you're right!
- scientist: our climate modeling indicates that if we start our weekly barbeque at exactly 6:17pm, a US weapons lab will be destroyed by a powerful tornado in 41 days.
- director: well let's start our barbeque at 6:17pm to see if you're right. Welcome to the 21st century, America! (insert maniacal laughter).
Jeez, could you imagine a single one of those...
Hell, with a budget of 265 Billion, who are WE defending ourselves from? Everyone else.....at once?
Eliza did that several years ago.
I'm just waiting for Tom's Hardware to write up an article on how to overclock this to get an additional 1,000,000 fps in Quake III.
640 nodes should be enough for anybody.